Urgent action needed on obesity

The Soil & Health
Association commends the New Zealand Medical Association
(NZMA) for their policy briefing ‘Tackling Obesity’.*
Obesity is a major public health issue in New Zealand. It is
making people sick and unhappy, and putting a strain on our
health system.

“Diet is a major part of the
problem. We need to educate children and adults, and promote
healthy food choices in a range of ways,” says Marion
Thomson, co-chair of Soil & Health.

“Soil & Health
promotes whole, unprocessed organic food, and home
gardening. Through our magazine Organic NZ we educate people
about healthy food, and are helping to establish organic
gardens in schools around New Zealand.”

Soil &
Health agrees with the NZMA’s recommendations, in
particular an easy-to-understand ‘traffic light’ food
labelling system, nutrition education in schools, and
legislation or regulation to restrict the advertising and
marketing of unhealthy food to children.

“We would
also like to see healthy food in schools, including a ban on
fizzy drinks, whether sugary or diet drinks – neither of
these is a healthy option,” says Thomson.

The
Association agrees with the NZMA that tackling obesity is
the collective responsibility of all of society, and has for
over 70 years been promoting healthy food and farming. Its
motto ‘Healthy soil, healthy food, healthy people’ is as
relevant today as ever.

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